Automatic narrowing mechanism in a flat knitting machine



Dec. 1, 1964 SADAMI [MON 3,159,014

AUTOMATIC NARROWING MEGHANISM IN A FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jan 28, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 1, 1964 SADAMI IMON 3,159,014

AUTOMATIC NARROWING MECHANISM IN A FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 28, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 I2 I I2" 2? 0 O I I A FIG. 2

Dec. 1, 1964 SADAM] [MON 3,159,014

AUTOMATIC NARROWING MECHANISM IN A FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 28, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 o 6- 4 ss' illllllllllllll FIG. 3 X g p bd; M44 4 1964 SADAMI [MON 3,159,014

AUTOMATIC NARROWING MECHANISM IN A FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jan- 1963 7 Sheets-PSheet 4 2a I u 24 0 5| 22 Q".

l7 20 4 o I9 24' 27' I7 36' K) O G V 26 o s 2s 34 Ill 37 I GD 4 a2 2 FIG. I?

Dec. 1, 1964 SADAMI lMON 3,159,014

AUTOMATIC NARROWING MECHANISM IN A FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 28, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 1, 1964 SADAMI IMON 3,159,014

AUTOMATIC NARROWING MECHANISM IN A FLAT KNITTING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Jan. 28, 1963 Dec. 1, 1964. SADAMl IMON 3,

' AUTOMATIC NARROWING MECHANISM IN A FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 28, 1 96 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 United States Patent O 1 Claim. 53!. 66-70) This invention relates to a V-bed flat knitting machine equipped with automatic narrowing and widening mecha nisms, and particularly to an automatic mechanism for effecting so-called decreasing of the number of wales or narrowing of the fabric. The object of the invention is to provide a knitting machine of such type in which the narrowing can be automatically and accurately effected in a simple manner.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 shows a front view of a flat knitting machine constructed according to this invention;

FIGURE 2. is a side view thereof as seen from the FIGURE 3 is a side view thereof as seen from the left;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged side view of a part of FIG- URE 1 as seen from the right;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the righthand half of FIGUREI;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of thelefthand end portion of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view taken VII-VII of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of a portion of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a side view showing a transfer needle operating mechanism;

. FIGURE 10 is a plan View thereof;

FIGURE 11 is a rear view thereof;

FIGURE 12 is a diagrammatic view showing the operation of a knitting needle;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG- URE 12;

FIGURE 14 is a sectional view taken along line XIV- XIV of FIGURE 13;

FIGURE 15 is a bottom plan view of the transfer needle shown in FIGURE14;

FIGURE 16 is a diagrammatic view showing the configuration of the narrowing or decreasing cams; and

FIGURE 17 is a diagrammatic view showing the configuration of the widening or increasing cams.

Referring now to the drawings in which the flat knitting machine of this invention is illustrated, shafts 1 and 2 are journalled at both ends of the machine frame so as to perform one rotation within a predetermined period as controlled by a card or chain mechanism 3. The shaft 1 carries secured thereon six decreasing or narrowing cams A, B, C, D, E and F, and the shaft 2 carries secured thereon three increasing or widening cams G, H and I. At the rear side of a needle bed 4 and parallel thereto, there is'a guide shaft 5 having a key along line slot, to which the root portion of three arms 27 are se-' cured, one arm being arranged at the mid point and the other two arms at the respective ends of the shaft 5. Shafts 18 and 22 are journalled through the mid points and the upper ends of the arms, respectively (FIGS. 1 and 2), forming a supporting frame swingable around the guide shaft 5. The righthand end arm 27 has a rearwardly protruding extension: 27 which is normally pulled downwardly by means of a spring 28; The free end of the extension arm 27' is pivoted to the upper end of a rod 29 which is associated with the cam Dto be controlled thereby. A screw shaft 6 parallel to the guide shaft 5 has at its one end a pin wheel 7 fixed thereto. A

3,159,014 Patented Dec. 1., 1964 pushing rod 8 adapted to engage with said pin wheel 7 is associated at its lower end with the cam E. Supporting arms 10 are secured to blocks 9 engaged by the screw shaft 6 and are adapted to traverse along the guide shaft 5 during the rotation of the screw shaft 6. The supporting arms 10 are also supported by the shaft 18. To attain the traversing motion of the two supporting arms 10 in reverse directions, one half of the shaft 6 is righthand threaded while the other half is lefthand threaded. As shown in FIG. 9, each supporting arm 10 has at its upper end a guide arranged in the direction perpendicular to the guide shaft 5, and a rack 11 is sl-idable along said guide. Said rack 11 has a head 11' provided with a guide at the front thereof, by which a slide block 12 is guided. Transfer needle 13 is fixed to said slide block 12 (FIGS. 4.and 9), which is normally pulled downwardly by means of a spring 12 and is supported by a guide arm 14 on the supporting arm 10. 15is a leaf spring secured to the supporting arm 10 (FIG- 10), which spring carries at its free end latch openers 16 which are disposed horizontally and at right angle relative to the transfer needle 13. At the mid point the spring 15 is supported by a free end of a presser rod 17 which is normally pulled rearwardly by means of a spring 17 (FIGS. 4 and 10). An arm 19 swingable in unison with but axially movable relative to theshaft 18 is adapted to press against the presser rod and push said presser rod 17 forwardly. On one end of the shaft 18, there is fixed an arm 19' which is connected by means of a connecting rod 20 to an arm 21 loosely mounted on the guide shaft 5 (FIG. 4). The other end of said arm 21 is pivotally connected to a rod 26 which is associated with the cam B for narrowing. A pinion 23 engaging with the rack 11 is axially slidable but fixed to the shaft 22 with respect to its rotation. A pinion engaging fork 23a (FIG. 11) is mounted on supporting arm 1t) and engages pinion 23 to move it along shaft 22 when supporting arm 10 moves. At one endof the shaft 22, there is another pinion 23' engaging with a rack 24. At the other end of said rack 24, there is another rack 24' which is engaged by a gear 25 loosely mounted on the guide shaft 5 (FIG. 4). Engaging with said gear 25, there is another rack 26, the lower end of which is associated with the cam C.

Beneath the needle bed 4, there are a guide shaft 31 and a screw shaft 32 parallel to each other. A forked arm 33 engaging with and actuated by the screw shaft 32 is provided with a slider holder 34 which is keyed to and guided by the guide shaft 31. There is a like forked arm 33 and the holder 34 symmetrically disposed on screw shaft 32, and one half of the screw shaft 32 is righthand threaded, while the other half is lefthand threaded. The holder 34 carries needle lowering sliders 36 and 36' and needle raising sliders and 35' (FIG. 4). At one end of the guide shaft 31, there is fixed a sector gear 37, with which engages a rack 38. The lower end of the rack 38 is associatedwith the cam A. The cam F is fixed to the cam D and is associated with a mechanism for releasing thestud of the card mechanism 3 through a connecting rod 30 (FIG. 2).

At one end (lefthand end) of the screw shaft 32 (FIG. 3) there is fixed a pin wheel 39, and an actuating rod 49 engaging with said pin wheel is associated with the cam G. In parallel to said screw shaft 32 and guide shaft 31, there are another pair of screw shaft 41 and a guide shaft 42. The guide shafts 31' and 42 have fixed arms 43 and 44, respectively, the free ends of which are connected to actuating rods 45 and 46, respectively, which are associated with the cams H and J, respectively. As shown in FIG. 7, a forked arm 47 engaging with the screw.

shaft 41 is adapted to actuate an arm 43 keyed to and slidably guided bythe-guide shaft 42. A connecting rod 50 is at its one end pivotably connected tothe upper end of the arm, 43 and at the other end is fixedv to the needle lowering slider 49 carried by the holder 34. The above mentioned three screw shafts 6, 32 and 41 are driven through a gearing in an associated manner.

Assuming that a stud (for example a narrowing stud) of the card or chain mechanism 3 comes to the uppermost position (in this case a carriage 51 assumes a position at the lefthand end of the needle bed 4,), it will raise the lever 52 (FIG. 1), thereby lifting an arcuate, finger 54 through a connecting rod 53 (FIGS. 1 and 2)., and a Wheel 55 will be coupled to a gear 56, thereby starting the rotation of the cam shaft 1. By the action of the cam D, the supporting arms 19 forming a part of transfer needle mechanism, will be turned down around. the guide shaft 5 overlying the upper face of the needle bed 4. At the same time, by the action of the cam A, the guide shaft 31. will be rotated through the operation of the rack 38 (FIG. 4) and the sector gear 37",whereby the needle raising slider 35 is actuated to raise the knitting needle selected for narrowing operation to the position (position b in FIG. 12) waiting the operation of the transfer needle, At the same time, by the action of the cam C, the pinion 25 meshing with the rack 26 will be rotated, whereby the transfer needle 13 is moved together with the slideblock 12 and, guided by the guide arm 1'4, its, free end will be inserted beneath the latch of the knitting needle. Then, by the action of the cams A and C, the transfer needle as well as the knitting needle with loops are moved upwards together. The knitting needle iS then moved to the uppermost position (position a in FIG. 12.), thereby completely releasing the loop from the latch of the knitting needle. Next, when, the needle is lowered to the lowermost position, the loop is completely taken up by the transfer needle. In this case, the transfer needle is slightly lifted by the action of the cam D so as to prevent the latch of the knitting needle from contacting with the transfer needle. At the same time, two knitting needles are slightly moved actuated by the sliders 35" and 36' to turn the latches of said needles by'means ofthe loops taken up thereby. Next, the pushing rod 8 is lifted by the action of the cam E, thereby the pin wheel 7 is-rotated;'for one pitch to rotate thereby the screw shaft 6 to shift the supporting arms 10 with the associated racks 11 on both sides of the machine inwardly for the distance of two knitting needles. The movement of forks 23a with supporting arms 10 slides pinions 2*3alongfshaft22. Since in the example shown five transfer needles are employed, a decrease of two wales is effected during one narrowing operation. Next, among the knitting needles assuming the lowermost position three knitting needles, leaving the two needles at both ends, are lifted by means of the needle raising slider 35 to the position d in FIG. 12. Next, by the action ofthe cam. B, the presser rod 17 is pushed and the latch opener 16 is inserted into the hooks of said raised knitting needles. When said knitting needles are further raised, the latches are opened and, at the same time, the presser rod 17 is retracted by'the action of the spring 17', whereby the latch opener 16 returns to the initial position. When the three knitting needles raised in the above manner come to the position C ofFIG. 12,

said needles together with the remaining two needles are 7 raised to the-position b of FIG. 12 by means of the raising slider 35, and are inserted into the loops retained by the transfer needles. Next, the transfer needles are retracted by the action of the cam C, and the transfer needle holder is swung upwardly by the action of the cam D. As the stud of the card or chain mechanism has been released by the action of the cam F fixed to the cam D, the rod 57 is oscillated, and thereby the carriage 51 is moved and the knitting is effected. Thus, during the knitting operation any desired narrowing operation will be effected according to the predetermined arrangement of the stud of the card orchain mechanism.

When a widening stud of the card or chain mechanism 3 is turned upwardly, a lever-58 (FIG. 1) is raised,

whereby an arcuate finger 54' will be lifted through a connecting rod 59 and a shaft having an arm and a connecting rod 60 (FIG. 3-). Thus, when the carriage 51 starts to move toward the righthand end, the driven wheel 55' and the chain wheel 56 will be coupled, so that the rotation of the cam shaft 2 will be started. By the action of the cam G the lifting rod 40 is lifted, and the pin wheel 3% is rotated for one pitch. Upon the rotation of the screw shaft 32, the holder 34 is moved outwardly for a distance of one knitting needle. By the action of the cam H, the guide shaft 31 is rotated, thereby the needle raising slider 35 is actuated, so that the inoperative knitting needles at both sides are raised to the operative position. When the carriage 51 reaches the central position during its leftward stroke, the arm 48 (FIGS. 7 and 8) is rotated by the action of the cam J, whereby the needlelowering slider 49 is oscillated to lower the leftward side knitting needles previously raised, again to the inoperative position. Next, when. the carriage 51, passing the central position, reaches the lefthand end, the guide shaft 31 is rotated by the action of the cam H, actuating the needle raising slider 35 to raise one knitting needle. disposed, in the inoperative position. (At this time, the. righthand side knitting needlesare taking upv the yarn). The yarn is completely taken up by the knitting needles upon the rightward stroke. of the carriage 51. (If the knitting needles were raised during the leftward stroke of the carriage, the yarn would not be taken up upon. the rightward stroke.) From the foregoing, it will be seen that according to the present invention the desired narrowing and widening operation can be automatically and accurately. effected at both edges of the fabric according to the predetermined. arrangement of the studs of the card or chain mechanism.

What I claim is:

In a flat bed knitting machine, an automatic decreasing or narrowing mechanism comprising a guide shaft arranged in parallel to the needle bed, a supporting frame having arms pivotally mounted on saidv guide shaft, a cam having cam follower means coupled to. said supporting frame for swinging said supporting frame at predetermined times, a screw shaft beneath said. guide shaft, a second cam havingcam follower means coupled .to said screw shaft for rotating said screw shaft at predetermined times, supporting arms. each having a block engaging with said screw. shaft and supported by said supporting frame and slidable along said guide shaft, a rack on said block and having a head, a slide block engaged by said rack head and slidable along said head, a transfer needle fixed to said slide block, a pinion engaging with said rack, third cam having cam follower means coupled to said pinion for rotating said pinion at predeterminedtimes, a latch opener, a leaf spring fixed to the supporting arm on which said latch opener is mounted on and disposed horizontally at right angle relative to the transfer needle, a slidable presser rod abutting against the mid point of said leaf spring, a fourth cam havingcam follower means coupled to said presser rod for actuating said presser rod at predetermined times, a second guide shaft and second screw shaft parallel to each other beneath the needle bed, a

, gearing operatively connecting said first screw shaft and the second screw shaft, a slider holder associated with said second screw shaftand slidable alongsaid second RUSSELL C. MADER, Primary Examiner. 

